Hong Kong ? The Hong Kong legislature passed a law Sunday that allows the government, with the permission of a judge, to use telephone wiretaps, e-mail scans, and other surveillance techniques in the name of public security.

Eighteen legislators left the chamber to protest the bill after almost 200 amendments they had put forward were voted down. The Interception of Communications and Surveillance Bill was passed 32-0 after a four-day marathon debate.

While the law enables the public to seek compensation for wrongful surveillance, law enforcement agencies are under no obligation to notify targets afterward. Thus, most people will not know they have been spied upon.

The bill has been described by critics as the biggest threat to civil liberties in the former British colony since a controversial anti-subversion bill that brought half-a-million protesters onto the streets in July 2003.

But there has not been much public outrage this time, partly because of the improved economy and because people are feeling more relaxed, according to some analysts.

The Democratic Party, the major opposition in the legislature, described the passage of the bill as “the beginning of the dark age in Hong Kong.”

Security Secretary Ambrose Lee said the government would not use the law as a tool to spy on politicians or activists. “The law would be a forceful tool for the law enforcement agencies to crack down on crimes,” Lee said.

Hong Kong first got a spying law almost 10 years ago, in the last days of the British administration before China took over. The law had a clause announcing its implementation at a date to be determined by the governor. The British governor, Chris Patten, was gone three days later and the law never came into force.